Mitchell Thomas

For the Australian curler, see Mitchell Thomas (curler).

Mitchell Thomas

Personal information
Full name	Mitchell Antony Thomas [1]
Date of birth	(1964-10-02) 2 October 1964 (age 59)
Place of birth	Luton, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1982–1986	Luton Town	107	(1)
1986–1991	Tottenham Hotspur	157	(6)
1991–1994	West Ham United	38	(3)
1994–1999	Luton Town	186	(5)
1999–2002	Burnley	99	(0)
Total		587	(15)
International career
1985–1986	England U21	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mitchell Thomas (born 2 October 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. While at Tottenham Hotspur he started in the 1987 FA Cup Final.

Playing career

David Pleat brought Thomas into the Luton Town side from Limbury boys club in 1982.^{[ citation needed ]} In 1985/86 Thomas played three games for England U21s in the European U21 championships.^{[ citation needed ]} He played in a qualifier and one leg each of the quarter and semi finals, with two of his Luton Town colleagues Tim Breacker and Mike Newell.^{[ citation needed ] [3] [4]} He was sold to Tottenham in July 1986 for a fee of £275,000, following the same movement of manager David Pleat.^{[ citation needed ]} After his spell at Tottenham during which he played in the 1987 FA Cup Final, Thomas moved to West Ham Utd in August 1991 for £500,000 joining former Luton teammate Tim Breacker.

On transfer deadline day in March 1994, he returned to Luton Town on a free transfer, ^[5] and he stayed there until the club went into receivership over the summer of 1999 and were forced to sell many players. Stan Ternent signed Thomas, for Burnley, for the start of the 1999-2000 season, which they ended by winning promotion. He remained at Turf Moor until retiring as a player in 2002.

Since Retirement

Since retirement from playing, Thomas has played a part in the transfer of several players. His role was controversial resulting in investigations into the transfers of Jermain Defoe to Tottenham Hotspur ^[6] and Shaun Wright-Phillips to Chelsea. ^{[7] [8]} Thomas was also embroiled in a controversy of this type when he was transferred to Tottenham. ^[9]

References

1. "Mitchell Thomas". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
2. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 368. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
3. "England U21 results to 1985". RSSSF .
4. "England U21 results from 1986". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 25 January 2010.
5. Haylett, Trevor (25 March 1994). "Football: Peacock goes but Francis stays: Mixed day at Queen's Park Rangers while Limpar joins Everton and Beagrie hops to City". The Independent. London.
6. "Legal wrangle looms for Jermain Defoe over mother's role in Spurs move". The Guardian. 8 January 2009.
7. Conn, David (9 March 2010). "Shaun Wright-Phillips and Chelsea face questions over unlicensed agent". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
8. Conn, David (10 March 2010). "Wright-Phillips deal offers Quest chance of belated success". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
9. "More strife for Spurs". The Independent. London. 6 June 1994. Retrieved 12 May 2010.

External sources

• Mitchell Thomas at Soccerbase
• Luton sell Mitchell.
• "Goodbye to Mitchell" from Clarets-Mad.
• Mitchell Thomas at Clarets-Mad.